The Ultimate Guide to Budapest Wine Festival

The most awaited event of September is around the corner! Between 5-8 September Budapest Wine Festival conquers Buda Castle Palace to bring us good wine, good vibes and good company aka the perfect weekend chill.

Frittmann Winery (Booth #49)

Producing wine for over 40 years, Frittmann family believes that a winemaker’s job is to produce the finest wine from the gift of the vintage. This quality-centred view is manifested in Soltvadkert, the centre of Kunság wine region. The elegant Frittmann wine house gives home to wine tasting events during which visitors can taste opulent wines, explore the Great Hungarian Plain, and catch a glimpse of winemaking. You won’t even need a drive back home as the wine house is complete with 4 rooms with double beds and a family room for 4.

The assortment boasts the grape varieties of the Kunság region like Cserszegi fűszeres and Irsai Olivér, but includes international favourites such as Riesling too. The newest additions to this nice selection are the FriSecco sparkling wines, the Ezerjó brut champagne, and two kinds of pálinka. Quench your thirst with any of the Frittmann produces on Budapest Wine Festival, and you’ll be more than satisfied.

6230 Soltvadkert, Eötvös u. 5.

Gere Winery Villány (Booth #130)

The winery of Tamás and Zsolt Gere is a traditional family enterprise from the heart of Hungary’s southernmost wine region, Villány. The second generation family business has set foot on the path of change: following a change of image, Gere Winery has revised its product palette to be more distinguishable and easily understood. To promote the recognition of local gastronomy, this summer they set up their own restaurant in the form of Villányi Bistro, offering the reinterpreted flavours of traditional Hungarian cooking. Despite all the new development, there’s something that hasn’t changed: their credo. To preserve in its true form whatever nature gave us, and to show everything that the Villány terroir is able to give. Find them at booth #130 at Budapest Wine Festival.

7773 Villány, Erkel Ferenc u. 2/a.

Gróf Degenfeld Wine Estate (Booth #7)

In 1994 Count Degenfeld’s family successfully revived its wine estate in the Tokaj wine region following an over 150-year-old tradition. Their vineyards of 35 hectares are located in Mád and Tarcal. To the family, winemaking has always meant the love of nature, respect for traditions, and the incorporation of modern technology. The Wine Estate produces dry wines and sweet wine specialties from the three main varieties of the region: Furmint, Hárslevelű and Muscat Blanc (Yellow Muscat). Late harvest Tokaj wine specialties include sweet Szamorodni, and the famous Tokaji Aszú. Since 2009 the vineyards have been managed by a certified organic cultivation; Degenfelt Wine Estate’s wines with organic labels became available this year.

3915 Tarcal, Terézia kert 9.

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IMO – Time for Wine (Booth #139)

IMO – Time for Wine is a major Hungarian wine retailer, focusing on the production and distribution of Hungarian wines, pálinkas, and fruit syrups, as well as foreign wines and spirits. Their love for the Hungarian wine and the country’s wine regions is unmatched in the industry. Through their represented wineries, they take part in the distribution of the products of the country’s most important wine regions, including Tokaj, Eger, Villány, Szekszárd, Balaton, and the Great Hungarian Plain. The company’s portfolio is composed of 14 flagship wineries, maintaining a close and personal relationship with each, with tasks related to professional backing, unique product developments, and marketing support. Starting from 2019, the company has welcomed its first foreign wineries: after a long search and tasting process, they have brought to Hungary Southern Europe’s most promising and delicious products: currently, IMO imports speciality wines from Italy and Spain, complementing well the company’s Hungarian product range. Italy’s world renowned wine industry is represented by eight different types of prosecco (ranging from standard to vineyard-select produces), while under the Spanish colours you can find the bottles of two distinguished, dynamically growing wineries.

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One of the most exclusive foreign drinks distributed by IMO is the iSpritz, a pre-mixed version of one of the most popular Italian aperitifs: you only need a glass, a couple of ice cubes, and a few slices of orange to feel good right away.

At this year’s Budapest Wine Festival, the company will present its new image to both the public eye and the business sector. Time for Wine is more than just a brand, or a sweet sounding slogan: it is a reflection of IMO’s attitude to all things wine as they believe that every moment can be made better with a nice glass of wine.

Besides the usual partnership meetings, they will also host an exclusive VIP wine tasting event, complete with a star guest and ten lucky winners, who will be selected through a Facebook sweepstakes, open from 26 August.

Give some of Hungary’s finest wines a taste and sip on bubbly proseccos and the glamorous iSpritz at booth #139!

If you’d like to try to the light Chardonnays, playful rosés and full-bodied reds of Villány, then look for Bognár & Polgár Winery at booths #127 and #128. Finally, taste for yourself one of the favourites of the summer, the otter-labelled whites and rosés of the Velence wine family at booth #60 in Hunyadi Courtyard.

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Koch Winery (Booth #48)

Located in the Hajós-Bajai wine region of Hungary, Koch Winery has been producing wines for generations: József Koch settled down in the little village of Császártöltés in 1748, and launched his viticulture business soon after. Csaba Koch grew up surrounded by vineyards and wine cellars, so today he works to help the family business keep blossoming. The modern winery manages a 140 ha area with a production of 800 thousand bottles per year that contain 27 grape varieties. Its wide range of outstanding wines includes Cserszegi Fűszeres, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kadarka and Rosé. In 2014 Koch Winery won the Hungarian Wine Academy’s Winery of the Year award, and the family has established the Vin Art Winery in the Villány wine region to expand its selection of fine wines.

6445 Borota, V. ker. 5.

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Kristinus Wine Estate (Booth #145)

In the last few years Kristinus Wine Estate has become an important part of Balaton wine region. Situated in Kéthely, the winery has been producing internationally recognized, award-winning wines since 2005, so we highly recommend you to stop by their stand at Budapest Wine Festival.

The building complex occupying the southern slopes of Lake Balaton is often referred to as an entertainment estate: besides fines wines and the mouth-watering dishes of Gastro Bistrot, visitors can choose from a wide range of interactive programs, including picnic with music, sports facilities, and film screening with friends.

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There is one thing with which Kristinus rises above many other wineries around Lake Balaton, its sustainable winemaking. It’s lesser known that there is conscious production planning behind the 57 ha entertainment estate that has been using biodynamic farming methods since 2019.

The CEO of Kristinus Wine Estate Florian Zaruba believes that winemaking comes hand in hand with the love for nature. There is no fine wine without healthy grapes, so the Kristinus team pays special attention to process the fruit attentively, thereby decreasing the ecological imprint of the estate.

Wines are starting to lose their unique tastes because of monoculture and the use of chemicals, which is why artificial insecticides are not applied at Kristinus Wine Estate. The use of tractors has also been minimized, which left an impact on the quality of Kristinus wines: they evoke the characteristic flavours that are typical of certain wine varieties and habitats. Since the number of sunshine hours on the southern shores of Lake Balaton is pretty high, solar energy is used to produce electrical energy necessary to run the estate.

Kristinus aims to earn the biodynamic certificate of Demeter International, the largest organization that monitors biodynamic agriculture in 50 countries. This certificate addresses products made with biodynamic farming methods.

Kristinus Wine Estate works to show that viniculture can be different.

8713 Kéthely, Hunyadi utca 99.

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Szivek Winery (Booth #55)

Szivek Winery is a little family-run enterprise: the label you can see on the Szivek bottles shows three hearts, a symbol for the Szivek family that consists of Gyula Szivek and his two sons György and Péter Szivek. Situated at the foot of Pilis, the winery welcomes its guests with mysterious mist in the fall/winter season and bright sunshine during the spring/summer months. Szivek Winery’s white grape varieties are grown on a limestone terroir at 340-meter high, where organic viticulture dominates. Taking all this information into account, it’s no longer surprise that the Szivek organic wines introduce us the complexity and richness of the terroir, and the uniqueness of Pilis.

2517 Kesztölc, Csévi utca 17-15.

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Tiffán Ede Winery (Booth #126)

Thanks to its eleven generations of winemakers, the Tiffán family has been known for producing quality Hungarian wine since 1746 in the Villány wine region. Currently led by Ede Tiffán, the very first person to be awarded Winemaker of the Year in 1991, the estate’s vineyards are situated on the most excellent parcels of the region: Jammertal, Sterntal, Ördögárok, Remete, Kopár, and Várerdő. It is more than business; it is passion, and Ede Tiffán makes sure to share all his knowledge about liquid art with his two grandsons who also committed themselves to winemaking. Their hard work and effort pay off: the winery’s red wine, Elysium (2013) took home a golden medal at VinAgora International Wine Competition, while the Grande Selection (2015) won a golden medal in Bordeaux, Berlin and Eger. Find Tiffán Ede Winery’s specialties at Budapest Wine Festival’s booth 126!

7773 Villány, Erkel Ferenc u. 10.

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Váli Birtok (Booth #75)

Situated among the vineyards of Badacsonyörs, Váli Birtok is the friendly micro-world of carefully cultivated vines, fresh local produces, homemade cheeses and cold cuts, and of course the finest wines. The stylish Váli bottles are filled with heavenly potions that range from light white wines to full-bodied reds and equally evoke the Badacsony region and its volcanic soil. Let us draw your attention to three zesty whites: Luca Bora (Luca’s Wine) and Budai Zöld (Buda Green) represent unique flavours, while the Váli Kéknyelű wine (2017) is outstanding in its own kind. Taste Váli wines in Badacsonyörs, the gastro venues of Budapest, or at Budapest Wine Festival between 5-8 September.

Badacsonyörs, Major u. 2.

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